When 29-year-old Chase Adam first thought to start a crowdfunding platform for health care, he was mystified one didn’t already exist.

Moved by what he had seen in Central America during his time in the Peace Corps, Adam created Watsi, a San Francisco-based crowdfunded medical care platform for impoverished people in developing countries around the world. For his efforts over the past five years, he is the 2016 Visionary of the Year, announced by The San Francisco Chronicle at a Tuesday evening gala at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.

Adam is the second person to win the award that honors Bay Area leaders who work to create social change. The inaugural title last year went to Evan Marwell, CEO and founder of the nonprofit Education Superhighway, which gives public school classrooms high-speed Internet connections.

“Global health is a black hole,” Adam said. “The more we can empower governments or NGOs with data, the better.”

Adam was referring to what is on the horizon for Watsi: a focus on data collection from medical providers to identify what is working and what needs fixing.

Grant and scholarship

The award carries a $25,000 grant from The Chronicle and a $10,000 scholarship in the winner’s name from St. Mary’s College School of Economics and Business Administration in Moraga, The Chronicle’s partner in creating the award. Winners may use the grant money as they wish.

Adam was among eight finalists for the Visionary award. The others were Rose Broome, founder of HandUp, which crowdfunds help for the homeless; Luisa Buada, who puts high-quality health clinics in low-income communities; Ken and Caretha Coleman, who push for more women and minority hiring in Silicon Valley; Vitka Eisen, leader of HealthRight 360; Jennifer Pahlka, founder and executive director of Code for America; Paul Tasner of PulpWorks, which creates eco-friendly packaging; and Freada Kapor Klein, a philanthropist who champions workplace diversity.

“Chase stood out for his remarkable story and his ability to use technology to fulfill a specific social need,” said John Diaz, The Chronicle’s Editorial Page editor and one of the judges. The other judges were Chronicle Publisher Jeff Johnson and Editor in Chief Audrey Cooper.

Feels like a startup

Adam’s creation, Watsi, whose other co-founder is Grace Garey, partners with medical facilities in 22 developing countries to identify impoverished patients in need of low-cost, high-impact treatments. After the patients are treated, their story and photo are uploaded to Watsi, and donors from around the world can contribute as little as $5 to help pay the bill.

The nonprofit — which, with a pingpong table doubling as a conference table, feels more like a startup — strives for 100 percent disclosure of its financial operations. Anyone can view its “transparency document,” which shows granular financial information, including the transfer of funds to medical providers.

Because of angel investments and tips from donors, every cent of every donation goes directly to the patient.

Inspiration for Watsi came in 2010 when Adam was with the Peace Corps in Costa Rica. He watched as a woman walked down the aisle of a bus, begging passengers to contribute to her son’s medical bills. Adam was struck by the willingness of bus riders to fork over change. It was because of the woman’s openness — she had her son’s medical file on hand — that, he believed, people trusted her.

What if, Adam thought as he returned to his hut, he could replicate what he saw on the bus for thousands of people?

During his free time in his final months of the Peace Corps, Adam drew up business plans for what would become Watsi, named after the town the bus was traveling through when the woman got on board.

Thousands helped

Today, nearly four years after Watsi opened for business, it has funded treatments for more than 7,000 patients whose quality of life would have been diminished without the procedures.

“It’s just an unbelievable award,” Adam said. “I can’t tell you what a huge honor it is.”

The selection committee for the Visionary of the Year award included high achievers in their own right: Pam Baer, founder and CEO of For Goodness Sake, a nonprofit foundation that created an e-commerce site to connect consumers with curated brands and nonprofits; Ron Conway, an angel investor and philanthropist; Ben Fong-Torres, a noted rock journalist, author and broadcaster; Pamela Joyner, founder of the strategic marketing consulting company Avid Partners LLC; Zhan Li, dean of St. Mary’s School of Economics and Business Administration; Marwell, last year’s winner; and Diaz.

“What I like to say is that Chase Adam is the Mark Zuckerberg of philanthropy,” said Conway, who nominated him for the award.